IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans captain Srikkanth Anirudha said he has learned a lot from MS Dhoni when he played under him for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.
Anirudha believes he learned how to stay calm from the former Indian skipper in tense situations to get the best out of his players.
IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans made a winning start to their campaign in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League as they defeated Ruby Trichy Warriors by four wickets at the Indian Cement Company Ground, Tirunelveli on Monday.
ITT bowlers did a good job in restricting RTW to 157 runs after Anirudha won the toss and decided to bowl first. In fact, almost all of RTW batters got off to starts but none of them could go past the 40-run mark.
On the other hand, Tushar Raheja scored a crucial known of 42 runs in the run-chase off just 26 balls. M Mohammed, who had scalped one wicket, provided the finishing touches as he smashed 29 runs from 15 balls with the help of two fours and as many sixes. He was awarded the Player of the Match for his fine show.
Furthermore, Subramanian Anand and Maan Bafna scored 35 and 26 runs respectively for ITT to help their team get close to the target.
Srikkanth Anirudha said in the post-match presentation, “We knew defending a target would be difficult on this ground. When we lost a wicket, we lost them in bunches and we need to work on that. We have to work on our powerplay bowling as well, but happy with the way we came back. I learnt a lot to see from a lot of leaders I played under. I have learnt from MS Dhoni as well when I played under him. I am a bubbly character, but I have realized that the best thing is to stay calm. I was calming Yo Mahesh down (Head Coach).”
On the other hand, Ruby Trichy Warriors skipper Rahil Shah admitted that they were 10-15 runs short of a par score and rued the fact that his team could not go past 170 despite getting off to a great start in the PowerPlay overs.
He said after the game, “We were 10-15 runs short. We started off brilliantly. We should have consolidated which we did in the last match. Saravana is our prime bowler and he probably has a niggle. Hopefully he’ll be fit for the next game.”
ITT will next face Dindigul Dragons on 4th July at the NPR College Ground, Dindigul.
